Anchor for clotheslines or the like



April 6, 1943. B. DAVIS ANCHOR FOR CLOTHESLINES OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 22, 1941 gk z 'mvENToR BERT DAVIS $4M ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 6, 1943 ANCHOR FOR CLOTHESLINES OR THE LIKE Bert Davis, Columbus, Ohio, ajssignor to Synchrone Manufacturing Company, Columbus,

Ohio, a partnership Application December 22, 1941, Serial No. 423,874

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to an improved anchor forclotheslines or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an anchor for a clothesline or the like, which anchor can be attached to a joist of a building, for example, by causing parts of the anchor to interlock with the joist merely by manipulating the anchor.

In carrying out the above object, it is an object of the invention to form the anchor having a yoke and two legs spaced apart and extending from the same side of the yoke, and one of the legs having a cleat at the end thereof, which cleat is provided with a cutting edge facing the opposite leg so that by placing the cleat against the joist and then rotating the anchor in a manner to cause the joist to be received between the legs thereof the cleat is pressed into the joist, thereby attaching the anchor to the joist.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view in elevation of a clothesline anchor, or hook, attached to a joist, the joist being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the hook;

Fig. 3 is a view of the hook being applied to the joist, the hook being shown on a smaller scale and the joist being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but on a smaller scale, showing the hook in the position shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the hook attached to the joist and a line tied to the hook.

Referring to the drawing, for the purposes of illustrating one form of the invention, I have shown a clothesline anchor 23. Preferably, the anchor is a casting formed to include a yoke portion 2|, two legs 22 and 23, which legs extend at substantially right angles from edge 24 of the yoke portion, and a stem 25 which extends from the opposite side of the yoke. Preferably, the edge 24 is straight and the legs extend substantially parallel. In the embodiment shown, the legs 22 and 23 are reinforced by webs 26, and the stem 25 is reinforced by webs 25 and 27.

The leg 22 is considerably shorter than the leg 23, and a cleat 29 is formed at the end thereof. The cleat extends inwardly and has a beveled surface 33 that extends outwardly, upwardly with respect to the yoke, and a cutting edge is formed thereon confronting leg 23. Preferably,

leg 23 is provided with a spur 3| adjacent the upper end thereof, The legs22and 23 arespaced apart for receiving a joist or the like edgewise therebetween. The distance between the legs 22 and 23 is such that the cleat 29 will extend substantially into the joist when the latter is between the legs as may be seen in Fig. 1 wherein the anchor is shown. attached to a joist 28.

In attaching the anchor to the joist, the cutting edge 30 of the cleat 29 is placed against the joist at a point above the bottom edg thereof, preferably, at a distance slightly greater than the length of the leg 22. This is accomplished by tilting the anchor as shown in Fig. 3. The anchor is then rotated clockwise, as viewed in the drawings, about the pivot formed by the cleat. This causes the leg 23 to engage the edg 32 of the joist 28 and as the anchor is rotated further, the cleat is forced into the joist by the camming action of the joist on the leg 23. The wood forming the joist is compressible so that by applying force in the rotation of the anchor, the edge 32 of the joist can be compressed to allow the anchor to be rotated to the upright position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. By beveling the cleat 29 outwardly with respect to the yoke and inwardly toward the leg 23, as the anchor is rotated clockwise the anchor is moved so that the yoke portion is drawn toward the joist. Also, by placing the cleat against the joist at the point described, the bottom edge of the joist engages the edge 24 of the yoke and moves the anchor, by a camming action so that the cleat is drawn toward the bottom of the joist and compresses the wood of the joist intermediate the cleat and yoke. This interlocks the anchor firmly to the joist. It will be noted that the distance between a substantial portion of the cleat 29 and the leg 23 is less than the thickness of the joist so that the cleat cannot be dislodged from the joist accidentally. Thus, the anchor cannot be easily disconnected from the joist except by rotating it counterclockwise. counterclockwise rotation of the anchor is resisted by the edge 32 of the joist cooperating with the leg 23, and to disconnect the anchor from the joist, sufficient force must be applied to the anchor to compress the joist adjacent edge 32 thereof.

The stem 25 has a hook 34 formed at its end for attaching a clothesline thereto. Preferably, the hook is formed so that the pull of the line tends to rotate the anchor about the cleat 29 clockwise so that the anchor is maintained firmly interlocked with the joist. The stress exerted upon the anchor by the line causes the spur 31 of the leg 23 to be imbedded in the joist for aiding in maintaining the anchor attached to the joist. Also, the spur 3| aids in maintaining the anchor in an upright position although the line attached to the stem may pull sidewise.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, I have provided a hook-like portion 35 for hanging various articles thereon such as Clothespin bags, for example. The weight of any articles hung on the hook 35 tends to rotate the anchor clockwise.

By my invention, I have provided an anchor for clotheslines or the like, which anchor can be readily attached to joists of buildings by merely manipulating the anchor. Also, the anchor is not liable to be accidentally unattached from the joist and it will support considerable stresses that may be applied thereto.

I claim:

An anchor for a line, or the like, comprising a member having a yoke portion and two spaced legs extending from one side of the yoke portion, said legs being rigid relative to said yoke and being spaced for straddling a support block, or the like, one of said legs being materially shorter than the other of said legs; a cleat formed at the extremity of said short leg. said cleat extending toward the longer leg, said cleat being adapted I to be embedded in said support block for forming While the form of embodiment of the present a pivot about which said device can be rotated in a direction for causing said legs to straddle the support block; a cleat formed adjacent the outer extremity of the longer leg, the last mentioned cleat extending inwardly for embedding in said support block when said device straddles said support member; and means for attaching a line, or the like, to said device whereby the weight of said line, or the like, tends to rotate said device in said direction.

BERT DAVIS. 

